Can Intermittent Fasting Help You Reverse Diabetes?
Dietary Restrictions (DR) have been used for thousands of years to cleanse the body internally and promote good health. They play a central role in many cultures and religions (such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism).
Fast, the most extreme form of DR, involves abstinence from all foods but not from water. It kills damaged cells, puts healthy cells in a protected mode and generates new young cells. Fasting has long been associated with a wide range of health benefits, including better blood glucose control, weight loss, heart health, brain function, and cancer prevention.
Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that alternates between periods of fasting and feeding. In humans, it has been shown to have beneficial effects on blood glucose, insulin, and blood pressure levels.
Prolonged fasting (FP) is a fast that lasts two or more days. When the fasting peaks are separated by at least one week of normal diet (a 2: 7 strategy), FP causes a decrease in blood glucose and insulin levels. In addition, PF is accompanied by autophagy (the cellular self-cleaning process that breaks down and recycles damaged molecules).
A 2: 7 FP diet strategy has a growing reputation among medical scientists and dietitians as a highly effective strategy for protecting normal cells and organs from a variety of toxins and serious conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and liver problems. while increasing the death rate of many types of cancer cells.
The problem is that most people find prolonged water-only fasting for two days (48 hours in a row) very difficult. In addition, its extreme nature could cause adverse health consequences, especially in the elderly and frail and in people with pre-existing medical conditions. A less severe diet with effects similar to those of a full-bodied FP is needed.
TO fasting imitating diet (FA) is a diet that mimics the effects of fasting. Experiments carried out a few years ago found that four-day FMD cycles in a row on a normal diet can provide benefits similar to a 2: 7 FP diet.
One of these studies was published in published in Cellular metabolism in July 2015. The investigation was divided into several parts.
Clinical trial on fasting
In the study in animals, the mice were fed a restricted diet for four days twice a month and allowed to eat as much as they wanted in between.
After each cycle of foot and mouth disease, the mice had lower blood glucose and insulin levels, and had reductions in certain inflammation factors, such as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), which is associated with aging and cancer, compared to mice in an unrestricted group. diet.
By 28 months, the FMD mice had also lost weight and had less abdominal fat (which is associated with diabetes) compared to the other mice. Furthermore, the fasted mice had a longer life expectancy.
In the human trial, 19 subjects received a special foot-and-mouth disease for five days a month for three months. Another 19 participants acted as controls who ate their usual diet.
The test subjects followed a very specific diet designed to reduce the risks of fasting and provide essential nutrients and minimize the psychological difficulties encountered during fasting. The special diet included plant-based soups, energy bars, energy drinks, chamomile tea, and a dietary supplement … designed to provide 44% fat, 47% carbohydrates, and 9% protein.
On the first day of the five-day diet, they were limited to 1,090 calories, and then on the last four days, just 725 calories. Those with FMD reduced their fasting blood glucose levels by an average of 11.3% … more than a type 2 diabetic would normally experience using a typical routine diabetes medication.
The study also found that IGF-1 was reduced by 24% (an advantage for cancer prevention) and levels of CRP, a marker of inflammation, were also reduced. Additionally, people with FMD lost 3% of their weight and reduced belly fat, along with a variety of other health benefits.
The overall results suggest that partial fasting can help control diabetes.
However, this is just one study that used only 19 test subjects, and obviously more research is needed to confirm the results … but it does give reason to hope that intermittent fasting can reverse type 2 diabetes. intention to try …